


Spare Me Some Time

by Punny



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Homelessness, M/M, UKUS, USUK - Freeform, businessman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15132593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punny/pseuds/Punny
Summary: Alfred Jones is as poor as they get, living homeless on the streets. He is the type of man that high-paid businessman Arthur Kirkland would never spare a passing glance, but that's about to change. USUK





	1. Chapter 1

Watching the feet of a thousand people walk on that sidewalk every day became Alfred’s favorite pastime, his only pastime actually. He was fascinated taking in the different kinds of shoes that were worn each day, the speed at which each pair of feet was walking, how the number of feet would increase at certain points in the day and taper off when it was less crowded.

Yes, Alfred Jones would stare at these feet the passed by him, even though the owners of those feet never even so much as spared a glance in his direction. After all, he was just a young homeless man sitting against the brick wall of a bank, the same bank that displayed his account balance as $0 a few months prior. The same bank that refused to let him take out any more loans to pay for his cramped, shabby apartment. The same bank that had no mercy on him after he had lost his job and could not find any other source of employment. With no money and no help, Alfred had been forced to live on the streets of New York City at the ripe age of 26. He had taken whatever he could from his apartment including some food and blankets, knowing whatever he would have to face living outside would not be forgiving or pleasant. 

He hated the thought of begging the passersby for money, so instead he spent every day the past few months resting against the brick wall observing the feet of his fellow city-goers passing him by in a rush. Most people were uncomfortable with the homeless so they made sure to never get close to Alfred or look at him, and in all honesty Alfred didn’t blame them. He was sure by now he must have looked like a ratty mess of dirt and grime. 

Yet even with his current quality of living having plummeted so low, Alfred remained the optimist he had always been. People-watching was actually a lot of fun, if you really thought about it. And he still had some granola bars to last him for a little while longer, which was pretty nice. And the wall wasn’t too uncomfortable if you placed a big blanket between you and the bricks. Yes, all in all, it could have been a lot worse for Alfred Jones. 

* * *

One day, a pair of shoes Alfred had never seen before walked briskly past him, and for some reason they took him by surprise. The shoes were the shiniest he had ever seen, as if the man wearing them had them professionally shined just minutes before heading out on the street. Sleek, black, slightly pointed at the tip with pristinely tied black laces cascading into a perfect bow on each shoe. Damn did those shoes look expensive! The speed the man was walking was so desperately fast that Alfred had no doubts the man was late for something important. First day at work perhaps? Ah well, Alfred would never know for sure the reasons why the speedy city-goer in the shiny black shoes passed by him in such a hurry that morning, but for the first time since he became homeless he actually had the desire to see what the man looked like, other than just his shoe preference. He made it his mission to catch sight of the man’s face the next time he got a glimpse of those expensive shoes again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I wrote this story in 2014, and it's actually the only story I never finished because I couldn't get past my writer's block. Now, four years later, I'm going to attempt to finish this story... It's definitely not my best work, but I hope you enjoy just the same!


	2. Chapter 2

Well, that could have gone better. His first day on the job and he had already managed to make a fool out of himself twice. But no matter, Arthur Kirkland was a strong individual who could handle any obstacle, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. Nevertheless, he gathered up the shambles of his pride and strolled out of his new office building with his head held high. He strived to do a better job at work tomorrow to prove himself to his boss and co-workers, and he most certainly would not make the same mistakes he did today.

With the sun setting below the outline of tall new york skyscrapers, the sky took a warm orange hue which Arthur found relaxing amongst his present thoughts. As he began his long trek back to his newly acquired apartment, he glanced down at his shoes to notice a few scuff marks, no doubt an obnoxious reminder of his bad day. His scowl deepened considerably and the people walking past him tried to stay away from his chilling aura. Arthur Kirkland was never known for friendliness or sociability anyway, so he was used to people avoiding him. Even at his home in England, the community knew him as a no-mercy, hard-headed man. Now that he was in America, he supposed he may have blended in with all the selfish new york entrepreneurs. Growing up in a troubling and unstable household, Arthur learned the hard way he had to take care of himself since no one else would. He liked to think his upsetting childhood had influenced him to become a successful businessman.

He was already exhausted from his long day at work that this walk back home added extra stress to his already aching feet. Eventually he would have to use the subway to get to work because he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up, but the NYC subway system seemed so complicated when he had tried to map it out, so he decided walking would be easier for now. He watched the sidewalk as he walked along to make sure he avoided the blackened gum stuck to the ground and the bouts of litter that rolled along. The new york streets were truly decrepit, Arthur thought. He just hoped his new shoes wouldn't become completely ruined after today; he had just had them professionally shined the day before, after all.

Not taking his eyes off the ground, he did not notice the pair of bright blue eyes studying him as he briskly walked by.


	3. Chapter 3

Alfred had waited all day to finally see the face of the man with the expensive black shoes. After deliberately checking each pair that walked by the rest of the day, the same expensive shoes from earlier came into view, and although they still had their shine, they were no longer as flawless as they had been that morning. A bit of scuff marks and dirt marred the perfection. Must have had a rough day, Alfred figured, he quickly took in the rest of the man's outfit before he disappeared down the street.

He was wearing a nice black suit with a green tie and gray vest underneath, fancy. Alfred then looked at the man's face since he had been desperately curious the entire day. And wow, he was blown away. There was a frown on the man's face and a crease between his (moderately thick) brows. Alfred was mostly only able to see the man's profile, but he could still see a glitter of green eyes that were illuminated by the setting sun. Overall, the man was completely handsome and radiant and professional and damn, he didn't even glance in Alfred's direction. Not even once. It seemed the man had a mission to stare at the ground intently as he walked. Oh well, maybe Alfred would be fortunate enough to see the man again tomorrow! He grew excited about the prospect, probably the only thing he had been excited about during the past few months. Alfred continued to watch the feet of all the New Yorkers after the man had long passed by; he had nothing else to do, anyway.

* * *

He woke up to the usual sound of sirens, horns, people, etc. Even though he had blankets around him, the harsh sidewalk was beginning to have pressing damage to his back and sides. Sitting up, he cracked a few joints to appease his aches, and started to get comfortable so he could enjoy his daily people-watching, including hopefully seeing that man again from yesterday.

Sure enough, around 20 minutes later, he caught a glimpse of the shiny black shoes (which looked like they'd been cleaned off since yesterday). His heart sped up a bit as his excitement grew, maybe today he'd make eye contact with the man! But alas, the man's pace was very quick once again, and it appeared as though he was going through his wallet for something important. 

As he passed Alfred, there was a glimpse of green falling onto the sidewalk out of the wallet. Alfred's eyes grew wide and he quickly crawled a few places in front of where he sat in order to grab the thing that had fallen, taking one glance at it Alfred realized it was a 50 dollar bill. Uh oh, he tried to get onto his shaky feet fast enough to catch the man but by the time he looked down the street, the crowd was too busy to see through. Perhaps the best plan of action was to wait until the man walked back down the street later that day, he decided. Alfred hadn't stood up in a very long time so he could feel his leg muscles teetering uncomfortably as he tried to support himself back to his wall. He let his back slide down the rough bricks until he was once again in a sitting position. Tucking the $50 into the pocket of his worn-out bomber jacket, he began to imagine how thankful the man would be once Alfred returned the money he accidentally left behind. Maybe the man would realize he lost the money and would search everywhere in vain! Maybe he would be so upset that the money was gone until Alfred presented it to him later that day! Yes, Alfred would be the man's hero; he couldn't wait until the sun went down!

* * *

Arthur knew the card MUST be in his wallet somewhere. As he rushed down the street to make it to work on time, he let his fingers search through each fold of the wallet, constantly trying to find the key card he needed in order to gain access to the building. If he was late on his second day then he would surely be in deep trouble with his boss, and he vowed he would not have _another_ horrible day at his new workplace.

Finally! He grasped the card at last, and right before he walked into his office building too! Maybe today would be a good day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going over all the chapters I wrote in 2014 and editing some stuff. I'm not sure why I made the chapters so short in the beginning. But as the story progresses the chapters get longer I promise!


	4. Chapter 4

After patiently (and agonizingly) waiting for 9 hours, the sun began to dip down behind the New York buildings, which meant he would be coming soon! Alfred grabbed the $50 out of his pocket so he could give it to the man when he came by. Soon enough, the man came into view! Alfred smiled wide and began his struggle to stand up. 

"Excuse me, sir! Excuse me!" Alfred called out as the man drew closer, but the man's reaction was not what he expected. Instead of slowing his pace to see what Alfred's inquiry was, the man glanced at him, scowled disapprovingly, and made to walk around him in a greater radius. Alfred's smile disappeared as he realized the man would not stop. 

"Wait, hold on! Stop!" He tried to follow the man but his legs refused as he collapsed back against the bricks behind him. The man still did not break his stride as he avoided Alfred completely until he was out of view.

Alfred's heart clenched and he sighed in defeat at the dirty sidewalk. That had not gone as he hoped, but perhaps he was being too naive. Of course the man would not give him a moment of his time since he had no idea Alfred wanted to return his money. The man probably thought Alfred was a beggar and a creep. 

Oh boy, this would be more difficult than he thought, but he would just have to try harder to get the man's attention tomorrow.

The next day, Alfred wanted to feel prepared by the time the man walked by that morning, but unfortunately the man decided to go to work 15 minutes earlier than he had the past two days. Which meant Alfred was not in his ready position to jump up and get the man's attention.

Surprised, Alfred yelled "Hey, excuse me!" a little too late and even though the man turned his head to glare at Alfred quickly, he was already gone by the time Alfred got the rest of his planned opening line out: "I have something you dropped yesterday!" 

Grrrr, no matter, Alfred would make absolutely sure he was ready for the man that evening.

 _Okay here he comes_ , Alfred thought since he was vigilantly aware of the exact moment the man came into view later that evening. He had made sure to be prepared this time, after all. He stood up so fast he became dizzy and held his arm out to stop the man in his tracks.

"Hi! I've been trying to tell you something!" Alfred exclaimed breathlessly.

The man halted and pierced Alfred with a green-eyed glower. "Bloody hell! I would think it's obvious how much I DON'T want to be around you. Why the hell do you think it's acceptable to keep calling to me every time I pass you by? I have places to be that are indefinitely more important than standing here talking to _you_. And if it's not perfectly clear by now, I have nothing I wish to give you so kindly fuck off and quit bothering me!"

Alfred was shocked.

"Oh...um...yeah I-I guess, I'm really sorry. I j-just thought...." Alfred stood in disarray before slowly putting his enclosed fist between the two of them and opening his hand gently to display the money he had on his palm. So much for being the man's hero. "Yesterday I saw that you dropped this out of your wallet...so I just wanted to give it back to you. I'm sorry, that's all I wanted to say."

Now it was the man's turn to be surprised, and he looked down to Alfred's hand to see the money, $50. He gaped. "That's mine?" He asked, sounding distant.

"Uh..yeah! I just thought, ya know… you'd want it back?" Alfred replied meekly.

The man lifted his head to look at Alfred more clearly. "Aren't you homeless?" He squinted his green eyes a bit as he observed Alfred's features: tangled blond hair, dirty skin, stubble across his chin, patchy clothes.

"Yeah I am."

"Well why didn't you keep the money for yourself? That would have gotten you a few good meals. It looks like you haven't eaten decently in a long time."

Alfred's posture deflated a bit, "Well yeah, but it's your money, not mine. I didn't earn it. Of course I had to return it to you."

"Ah. Yes. Right. Thank you." Confused, he took the money out of Alfred's palm and placed it in his jacket pocket. He felt a little too disoriented at the moment to fish his wallet out to put the money in there. "Don't you want a reward or something at least? I still cannot fathom why you, a homeless man, wouldn't want to keep the money for yourself."

"I don't want a reward! I was doing what any decent person would do in that situation...I would feel horrible spending your money on myself. And I don't need food every day, I'm okay hahah..." 

There was an uncomfortable grimace on Alfred's face that he tried to manage into a sincere smile, but the conversation was not what he expected it'd be at all. After a tense few seconds of silence Alfred said, "Well.. have a nice day." Then he wandered to the wall and sat back down in his spot putting his head into his hands.

The man stood there for a little longer just watching him solemnly before uttering a "thank you, you...too." And then Alfred heard the man's shoes click against the sidewalk as he walked away, much more lethargically this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting fact: while editing these chapters that I wrote in 2014, I decided to make Alfred's personality a little less optimistic, especially after Arthur yells at him. Originally I had it so Alfred never really loses his happy side because at the time I wrote this, that's how I felt toward the world (really hopeful and excited for new experiences). Now that I'm older I don't feel this way anymore - unfortunate but true. So I'm making Alfred a truer reflection of myself by diminishing his optimism a bit, not completely but definitely lessened. That's what happens when you get older I guess - adulthood just sucks the life right out of you >.<


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur lay awake in bed that night for hours, staring up at the dark ceiling of his roomy apartment. No matter what he tried he couldn't manage to fall asleep; his thoughts were muddled with images of that homeless man from earlier that day. A homeless man finding $50 and returning it to its owner? It had to have been a trick...or something. No person was that selfless and kind, right? _GAH_ , Arthur rolled to his side to face the equally dark wall.

Ever since he was a lad, he had only encountered people who looked out for themselves. In fact, he could not recount seeing a single act of strong compassion or altruism from anyone in his family or immediate circle of acquaintances. Especially as an adult, he found that reliance and trust in others for anything was hard to come by. How can he trust anyone when they're only concerned with their own wellbeing? Which is why....that homeless man was the first person Arthur ever met that completely took him by surprise. The man clearly needed the money more than Arthur did and yet he returned it. Why? Could people actually be that kind?

He checked his bedside clock for about the fourtieth time that night. A big red 2:47 AM greeted him. He groaned with exasperation, at this rate he would never fall asleep... and how did the homeless man fall asleep every night on that hard concrete? Surely it couldn't be comfortable. He must have a sore back by now.

 _UGHH_ Arthur was exhausted, he never had this much trouble falling asleep in his entire life. He pulled the covers more secure around his body, shivering slightly; it felt like there was a slight draft in his room... but that homeless man must be even more freezing, Arthur thought. Outside in the frigid nighttime air, trying to huddle up in the few blankets he had. The man would undoubtedly get sick, especially when the winter months approached. 

_Okay okay it's time to stop thinking, and start sleeping. If I'm not able to focus at work tomorrow, my boss will be furious. And then my co-workers will think I'm incompetent. It seems like I'm on their good side for now so I can't jeopardize that. Eventually I'd like to get to know some of them better, possibly form a friendship or two... I wonder if the homeless man has any friends. It must be quite lonely. He must have had some friends before he became homeless, right? I wonder if they know he needs help._

_STOP STOP STOP_ , Arthur tried to cut his thoughts off before they got carried away. _Sleep now, sleep._ Another quick glance at the clock showed 3:01 am. Good God, Arthur was exhausted. He silently began the struggle to slip into unconsciousness once again and leave his thoughts about the homeless man away, but unfortunately for him it wasn't until another hour went by that he was finally able to get the rest he desperately needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter I wrote in 2014, which began my four year long writer's block. Every other chapter after this is new and a lot longer than these micro-chapters.


	6. Chapter 6

As the blaring tune of his alarm sounded, Arthur begrudgingly opened his eyes. Every cell in his body was urging him to go back to sleep, and he felt the desire to cry with exasperation. He had barely slept 3 hours that night, and even when asleep, he had fitfully dreamt of that man with the blue eyes and torn clothes.

Arthur was certain he had never spent so much time mulling over one person, especially someone he considered a stranger. And yet something about the man meddled its way into Arthur’s head and he could no longer live his normal life with a clear conscience. For once he actually wanted to help someone other than himself. 

He never thought he’d see the day…

The quick morning routine went a little slower than usual and Arthur finally pulled himself out of his apartment and down the street to begin his daily commute. While he desperately wanted to see the stranger again as soon as possible, he knew that if he saw the man now, he would probably never make it to work on time.

That day he took an alternate route and bypassed the homeless man entirely.

* * *

Alfred had always been a happy-go-lucky kid and that had carried him into adulthood. Even when things went sour and life found every way to beat him down, he still managed his optimistic demeanor.

But after that cutthroat verbal abuse he received from the businessman the day before, the light he had seen in the human race as a whole dwindled and left him feeling emptier than he felt when he lost his job. The whole encounter rubbed him the wrong way and he suddenly felt angry and ashamed.

It’s not as if he was a bad person! And yet that man had judged him so harshly and cruelly it had nearly brought Alfred to tears. For the first time since he had laid eyes on the businessman a few days ago, Alfred did not want to see him again. He spent the morning with his eyes trained on the ground, not bothering to watch the countless shoes that passed him by.

* * *

_Free at last_ Arthur thought as he hurried out of work at 5 pm sharp. That day had gone particularly sluggish and Arthur caught himself checking the clock almost every few minutes, impatiently waiting for when he could see the homeless man again. Not to mention, he could hardly concentrate on his tasks since he had barely gotten any sleep the night before. 

As he hurried along, he thought of what he would say to the man. Would he still be there? Or had he moved to another location? God, Arthur hoped not.

At last he approached the bustling sidewalk and saw the man against the same building as the day prior, but this time he looked much more melancholy and dispirited. Arthur was sure he had caused that sadness and his guilt skyrocketed, it was time to make this right.

“Ah, hello,” he started, attempting a smile that felt entirely too forced and uncomfortable. He watched as the man lifted his head slowly, clearly unsure if the greeting was meant for him or not. 

When his eyes met Arthur’s, he did a double take and sunk a little further into the sidewalk. “Oh geez,” he muttered under his breath, and Arthur couldn’t help but reconsider his decision to come back. 

“I, uh, just wanted to thank you again for returning my money to me. And I need to apologize, since I think I failed to do so yesterday after my brash behavior. I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. I hope you can forgive me.” Arthur’s heart was pounding in his ears, but he felt that his level of nervousness was warranted. 

Blue eyes flew up to study his face for a few tense seconds before he uttered a response. “No problem, seriously dude don’t worry about it. I get it.”  
  
Even though those words should have cleared Arthur’s conscience, he knew the forgiveness was insincere, as it should be.

“No, no. I’ve made a terrible mistake in judgment and I’d like to make it right. Please come to my flat with me. There’s plenty of space and you can stay as long as you wish in my spare bedroom.”

At this the man’s jaw dropped open, clearly not expecting the invitation. His mouth worked wordlessly for a couple moments before he snapped it shut and tried to formulate a sentence. “I…wha- no, I couldn’t. Seriously? I’m – no I can’t.” He ran his hand through his already mussed-up hair. “That’s really nice of you to offer. But I would never intrude on a stranger’s home like that. Thanks though.” And this time he gave a tight-lipped smile.

Arthur sighed deeply and tried a different approach. “Sir, please reconsider. You’re awfully thin and I can at least give you something to eat. You can even take a shower. And if you’d rather not stay the night, then perhaps just a couple of hours?”

Pained blue eyes studied Arthur’s face and he could see the gears turning in the man’s head, clearly assessing every possible outcome of the situation Arthur presented. Eventually he conceded and nodded slightly, probably coming to terms with the fact that it was in his best interest to take Arthur up on his offer.

“Um, I mean. Okay, if you’re sure. I’d hate to be a burden though-”

“Nonsense!” Arthur interrupted him quickly, “Not at all. Here, let me help you up,” he stated as he crouched down to hook an arm under the homeless man’s elbow to hoist him up. Being so close to him, he could smell the pungent scent permeating the poor man’s clothing, and caught himself before he almost gagged. 

Once the man was on his feet, he wobbled a bit unsteadily before starting to put together his belongings. He didn’t seem happy at all, Arthur noted dejectedly. The Englishman was never known for facilitating conversation or brightening the mood, yet he found himself so desperately wanting to put a true smile on the homeless man’s face – a smile like the man had worn yesterday before Arthur had chastised him…

“My name is Arthur, by the way. Arthur Kirkland.”

The man briefly looked up as he stuffed a blanket inside a large tote bag. “I’m Alfred Jones, it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Alfred.” Arthur tried to sound as warm as he could but Alfred still glanced at him with an unreadable expression before continuing his packing.

When he was finished, he slung the bags over his back and vehemently denied Arthur’s requests to carry them for him. They then began the trek through the city in awkward silence.

“You really don’t have to do this you know,” Alfred stated plainly after about ten minutes of walking.

“What do you mean?”  
  
“I mean I don’t need your pity. Or whatever. I appreciate you inviting me to your place but I know you’re only doing it because you feel bad for me.” He stopped and stood as straight as he could, coming up a little taller than Arthur.

“I promise you that’s not… that’s not why I invited you.” Crap, this was getting more awkward by the minute. “You did something nice for me so I felt that I should do something nice for you.” That wasn’t bad was it? He hoped it wouldn’t come off wrong.

“Yeah but I don’t want you to feel like you NEED to do this for me, especially if you’re uncomfortable. Like how do you know you can trust me? I’m poor, how do you know I won’t steal something?”  
  
Arthur narrowed his eyes at the blunt questions, but still felt as if the man in front of him wasn’t even capable of killing a fly. “…Will you?”

Alfred floundered a bit before pouting, “No, of course not! But I’m just saying. Like I just don’t want this to be a pity-invite.”  
  
“Ah, so you want to know if I’m earnest?” 

The blue-eyed man sighed before responding, “Yes.”

Arthur grinned assuredly, “To be honest, I’m quite intrigued by you because of your selflessness. And I want to help you because it’s the right thing to do and because you seem like someone worth getting to know.” Arthur wasn’t sure but he swore it looked like Alfred was blushing. He added as an afterthought, “I also just moved to America so it’d be nice to have a friend…if that’s alright with you.”

Alfred stared at him pensively before a big smile spread on his face. “Yeah, sure, we could be friends. 

Arthur’s heart skipped a beat at seeing that wonderful smile again, and they began to walk once more in unison, just a tad bit closer to each other this time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiss my ass, writer's block! The continuation of this story has commenced.


	7. Chapter 7

Alfred felt a little more relaxed as he fell in step beside Arthur. There were so many emotions coursing through him, happiness and excitement mostly – but there was still an underlying apprehension and sadness that couldn’t be ebbed away just yet.

Don’t get him wrong, he was really grateful that Arthur offered him a place to stay, but they were effectively strangers to one another and he had already been on the forefront of the businessman’s wrath, and honestly, that had been one of the most terrifying moments of his adult life.

As they continued on, it dawned on Alfred that they were heading toward the Upper East Side, one of the richest neighborhoods in New York. He tried to hide his shock. This couldn’t be where Arthur lived…right? He seemed too young to be living in such a wealthy and prestigious area. But then again, the few times Alfred saw him, he was wearing beautifully tailored suits and exceptionally shiny shoes…so maybe it was possible that Arthur was in fact mega-rich. 

At that point they had been walking for what felt like forever, and Alfred could hardly believe that Arthur did this commute day after day! He silently thanked the gods when Arthur finally stopped and turned to walk up some stairs leading to an ornate door, signifying their journey had officially come to an end. 

Alfred’s legs and back were throbbing (who said 26 was young?) as he grasped the banister and pulled himself up the stairs. He wasn’t about to let his companion carry his bags for him but damn was his body weak; he prayed the Arthur would make good on his promise and have some food to offer after all. 

They entered the building and came to an elevator which took them up to the fifth floor. The old apartment Alfred used to live in didn’t even have an elevator and he had lived on the sixth floor, so this was a welcome improvement; Alfred was sure his legs wouldn’t carry him another inch anyway. 

Arthur gestured for him to follow as he led them down a nicely lit hallway and finally approaching a door labeled 5C. Arthur hadn’t said a single word in a long time, and Alfred began to fidget uneasily, hoping that Arthur wasn’t having second thoughts on the invitation. 

But before his anxiety got the best of him, Arthur turned to him. “Well, here we are finally. Welcome to my home,” and with that he pushed open the door to his apartment.

Alfred’s jaw dropped for the second time that night. This place was amazing! It had high ceilings with a bookshelf lining one of the far walls, floor length windows that displayed beautiful brownstone buildings around the neighborhood, stylish and modern furniture in the living room, and that was all Alfred could see from his position by the door but holy cow was he blown away. He had only seen pictures of places like this in interior design magazines, he had never actually had the opportunity to set foot in a new york city paradise like this.

“Oh come on now, it’s not all that. It doesn’t nearly compare to some other flats I visited. The main reason I chose this flat was for the bookshelf. I’m partial to books I must admit.”

Alfred could see why Arthur wanted to live here. The living room itself was probably as big as Alfred’s old apartment! He suddenly felt like he was intruding dressed the way he was, and very carefully stepped into the apartment, trying not to leave any dirt in his wake. His grimy shoes didn’t belong on this spotless floor and he wasn’t sure whether or not to take them off, it’s not like his socks were much cleaner. He was so very out of place.

Arthur noticed his hesitation. “You can take them off by the door if you’d like. In fact, why don’t you get started on a shower so you can clean yourself up a bit? I may have an unused razor you can borrow as well.”

After toeing off his shoes, he nervously bit his lip and looked at Arthur, “Actually, is it okay if I eat something first? Just something small! If you don’t mind.” This was so embarrassing, but his stomach had been so empty for so long, he needed some nourishment pronto. 

“Yes of course! Sorry, how silly of me. Here, come to the kitchen and let’s see what I have.” Alfred trailed after him to step into an enormous kitchen area with marble countertops, an island, a dishwasher, and an electric stove. It was the nicest kitchen Alfred had ever seen and he stared in awe while Arthur sidled through the fridge.

“Okay…so unfortunately I don’t have much but I do have some cheese, leftover cod, greek yogurt, and some fruit. You shouldn’t eat too much right away since your body isn’t used to it but you’re more than welcome to anything that strikes your fancy,” Arthur said as he moved to the side, giving Alfred a better view of the fridge.

After careful consideration, Alfred decided on the yogurt and an apple, hoping it wouldn’t upset his stomach. And as much as he tried to savor the taste of his first real food in months, he couldn’t stop himself from eating savagely. 

The Englishman watched him for a while before fetching him a glass of water, to which Alfred smiled and thanked him.

“So, would you like to take a shower now? Get it out of the way? I can prepare supper in the meantime,” Arthur offered.

Alfred smirked at him, “What, are you saying I smell or something?” He said it in a teasing tone, even though he knew he must smell like a living dumpster truck by that point. He wouldn’t blame his host for wanting him thoroughly bathed.

Arthur appeared mortified. “No, no of course not!” But his pink cheeks were telling of the truth.

He couldn’t help but giggle at the expression. “I’m joking, don’t worry! Yeah, I’ll get in the shower. But I don’t know if I should change back into these same clothes. And as much as I love this old bomber jacket, I think it’s time to call it quits.”

“I should have some spare clothes you can borrow, might be a tad too small for your height but it’s better than nothing.”

“Yeah, I doubt you’d want me walking around naked,” Alfred joked again half-laughing, but stopped when he saw Arthur’s cheeks turn even redder. Maybe he was getting too comfortable too soon, but it was just nice to finally be able to talk to someone after so much time alone. But clearly he was making his new companion uncomfortable and he barely knew anything about the man. Only that Arthur was British, rich, and kinda mean when he wanted to be. “Sorry, I was just kidding,” he added meekly.

“..Right. Anyway, let me show you around so you’re acquainted with the flat, and then you can take a shower if you’d like.”

Avoiding the awkwardness entirely, they began the tour around Arthur’s apartment, ending at the bathroom. Alfred swore he was in a state of denial at how beautiful and spacious everything was. The bathroom tub even had a Jacuzzi! 

“And here are two towels in case you need more than one. And a razor,” he said as he placed the objects in Alfred’s hands. “The shower controls are pretty straightforward but let me know if you have any trouble or need anything else at all.”

Before Arthur left the bathroom to start cooking, Alfred called out to him, “Arthur, I really appreciate what you’re doing for me. Like seriously, thank you so much for everything.”

The green-eyed man blushed again, which Alfred was quickly finding to be a very adorable trait. “It’s no problem at all. Honestly, I’m glad you decided to come.” He smiled warmly. “Oh and I’m planning on making spaghetti Bolognese and potatoes for supper, but please don’t feel pressured to eat more than you can handle. It should be done in about an hour.”

“Sounds great, thanks!”

Arthur nodded in response as he left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Alfred began to orient himself with his surroundings before stripping off his dirty clothes and piling them in the corner. He stared at the pile in disgust before hopping into the shower and turning it on, the warm water feeling like heaven rolling down his skin.

Maybe this experience would turn out to be good for him after all. Maybe this would motivate him to get back on his feet and he would never have to sleep in dirty rags ever again. Probably wishful thinking, since he wasn’t planning on staying here for very long. Arthur had already done more than enough to help him, and he hated the thought of asking too much of the man. But still, it was nice to dream about living in this beautiful apartment and having an interesting and handsome foreigner as a roommate.

As he lathered up his body to clean off every inch of skin, he couldn’t help the hopeful smile that bloomed on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been in one of the fancy brownstone apartments in NYC but I bet my reaction would be similar to Alfred's if I did!


	8. Chapter 8

Arthur hastily stepped into the kitchen to begin dinner preparations. He was extremely antsy, although not for the reason he would have thought. Surprisingly, he was quite sure of his decision to invite Alfred to his home, the man seemed plenty nice and although a bit crude, he seemed like a fun person to be around. No, Arthur was not nervous about the homeless man showering in his bathroom.

However, he WAS nervous about the food he would be serving for supper. In his hometown back in England, he was known as the worst cook ever – always burning the food or never putting enough flavour. Two people even got food poisoning after trying one of Arthur’s meals. Eventually he became infamous for his cooking and his family forbade him from using the stove, which in all honestly was a huge blow to his self-esteem.

Arthur had cooked for himself plenty of times and had never once fallen ill! And yet, years and years of being bullied for his cooking had scarred him so deeply that he rarely made food anymore. Since moving to America, he had only gone out to eat at restaurants, treating himself to the variety of ethnic cuisines that New York had to offer. But since he had planned on having a guest, he had gone to the supermarket the night before to pick up some basics, hoping that spaghetti and potatoes would be simple enough and painless to make.

As he gathered the ingredients and began boiling water, he felt his hands shaking slightly, which was absolutely preposterous. He had no reason to worry. It’s not like he was hosting his new boss or the queen of England for Christ’s sake! It was just Alfred Jones…a poor man with a heart of gold. Arthur shook his head, this was ridiculous. He didn’t need to impress anyone.

He quickly got to work by washing and peeling the potatoes (and nearly taking the skin off his pointer finger in the process). Once the potatoes were safely in the pot to boil, he got to work on the sauce for the spaghetti. He gathered the beef, onion, tomatoes and spices and placed the pan on the stove. 

Then he heard the shower turn off. 

Heartbeat quickening unexpectedly, he threw the chopped onion and beef into the pan. Shit, Arthur thought. He wanted to have the meal finished by the time Alfred was done! Glancing at the clock, he saw that a whole 45 minutes had gone by since he had first started, and he hadn’t even cooked the spaghetti yet! 

He stirred the onions and beef while adding the tomatoes, pretending that the faster he stirred, the sooner it would be done. He didn’t hear the bathroom door opening nor the feet padding down the hallway. 

“Hey Arthur?”  
Arthur jumped and spun around at the disruption, hand clutching his chest while the other hand was still gripping the wooden spoon. As soon as he caught sight of the man in front of him his jaw dropped to the floor, as well as the spoon. 

This couldn’t be the same person…there was no way. The man in front of him was gorgeous – golden blonde hair and shining skin and twinkling blue eyes, and he had shaved so his face looked clean cut. His half-naked body was glistening with an after-shower glow. HALF-NAKED body! 

The man was only wearing a towel around his waist, and although he was dangerously thin, Arthur still thought he must be the most beautiful person he had ever laid his eyes on.

Alfred looked at sauce-splattered spoon on the floor and back up to Arthur. “Oops, didn’t mean to scare you! I was just wondering if you had any clothes I could borrow? I know you mentioned it earlier but you didn’t actually give me any haha…”

Arthur, still off-guard and chest heaving, tried to will away the heavy beating of his heart and the pink staining his cheeks. He actually forgot to give the man clothes! By this point he was sure Alfred must think of him as a complete ditz. “Yes of course, I can’t believe I forgot. I’m sorry, this isn’t like me. My brain isn’t functioning properly for some reason.”

“Hey no worries, we all have those days,” Alfred said as he smiled lopsidedly. Arthur could only stare a few more seconds before walking briskly away from the kitchen to retrieve some clothes, lest he make an even bigger fool of himself. Alfred really was a sight to behold and Arthur wasn’t prepared for it. Nor was he prepared for this schoolgirl-type crush to envelop him. Complete and utter shite. He’d known the man for all of two days!

After rooting around in his chest of drawers, Arthur finally found some suitable clothes for Alfred. By that point his face had gone back to its normal pale complexion so he felt ready to face him again.

He entered the kitchen to find that Alfred had cleaned up the spoon mess on the floor, and was currently stirring the sauce and adding some spices into it. Arthur had completely forgotten about the food! …maybe this was why he always burned everything…

Alfred heard him approach and turned to face him, “Just thought I’d help you out a bit, hope you don’t mind. It looks really delicious! Is it okay if I take out the potatoes now?”

Mortified, and feeling somewhat incompetent, Arthur grew indignant. “I’m the host, you shouldn’t have to cook! Here, take these clothes and get dressed. I’ll finish up here and it’ll be done before you know it.”

Hesitantly, Alfred took the clothes from Arthur’s expectant hands and withdrew from the kitchen back to the bathroom. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, he could handle this by himself.

He turned on another burner to start the pasta and began taking the potatoes out of the boiling pot. Cooking really was an art form, and it was so damn difficult to try to have everything finished at the same time. How did other functioning adults do it??

After a few minutes Alfred returned to the kitchen and Arthur felt eyes on him as he worked, increasing his anxiety tenfold. "Sorry but do you mind going somewhere else? You're making me nervous just standing there," he said to his guest.

Alfred smiled sheepishly. "Actually I was wondering if I could help. If you want, I can do the potatoes while you do the pasta." Arthur was about to deny the request when he added, "I haven't done it in a while but I used to make pretty good mashed potatoes. Used to be one of my favorite things to cook when I had my own place."

Arthur stalled and breathed a sigh of reluctance through his nose, "Fine. I would hate to put you to work but if you insist."

"Yeah it's no problem at all! I love cooking."

Arthur wished he could say the same, and he still felt uneasy. But nonetheless he scooted over to give Alfred enough space next to him. And so the two worked side by side, Alfred focusing on mashing potatoes and sprinkling in some cheese and salt, and Arthur stirring the pasta and sauce.

Eventually the meal was finished (with Alfred guiding Arthur occasionally) and they both set the table together. Surprisingly, the food looked and smelled pretty good; this was probably the best-looking meal Arthur had ever created. And of course he didn't do it alone but he still felt his chest swell with pride. No food poisoning today!

When they finally sat down, Arthur didn’t dare comment on how little food Alfred had on his plate, he wouldn’t pressure the man to take in more than he could handle. 

They began to eat in comfortable silence, which was suddenly punctured by a “Oh damn…”

Arthur looked to Alfred in horror, thinking that the man was going to hurl or need a trip to the hospital. He was surprised to see that Alfred’s expression was one of complete bliss. “This is so fucking good. I haven’t had an actual meal in like months!”

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m glad you like it. And I must say that your mashed potatoes are quite delicious, you’ll have to show me how you do it.” 

Alfred looked at him humorously, “You’ve never made mashed potatoes before? They’re pretty easy even if the potatoes take forever to boil.” He licked his lips after taking another bite. “Yeah I can definitely teach you.”

The Englishman considered how much of his personal life to disclose; how open should he be to this stranger/potential friend? He decided to swallow his pride and opt for honesty. 

“I’ve never made them before but I’m willing to learn. In fact I don’t cook all that often, people tend to despise the food I make.” He felt his cheeks become rosy as he spoke. Curse his pale skin. “I wanted to do something special for you though. Even though this doesn’t seem like that much, it took some planning to orchestrate and I’m not used to my new kitchen yet.”

“Aww, well that’s really sweet of you. And for the record I think the food is awesome. You get an A+ from me, chef!” Alfred said as he winked and gave a thumbs-up. 

Arthur felt his cheeks get redder. Why did this man have this effect on him? Bloody hell…

“Thanks, and thank you for helping me.”

“Anytime!” he replied, as the two polished off their plates.

“So, if you don’t mind talking about it, can I ask what you used to do before you ended up…on the street?” The curiosity had been gnawing at him all night and he desperately wanted to know Alfred’s backstory.

Wide blue eyes stared at him for a moment before he responded, “Yeah, of course, I don’t mind talking about it. Ummm basically I used to work in customer service for a really crappy videogame company. Like the games were shit and we got complaints nonstop about the quality. It was torture,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “I thought it would be cool to work in customer service because I thought I’d be able to help people. But literally my old boss told me to lie to the clients to try to get them to buy more and spend more money. My work ethic tanked and they eventually fired me. Kinda sucked even though I hated it, yanno?”

Arthur couldn’t help the grimace on his face, he was lucky he worked for a man with a well-built company of strong morals, because the situation Alfred just described sounded horrible. “I’m really sorry, your old boss sounds like a right bastard.”

“Yeah he is. I’ve had a couple other jobs over the years too but I never stayed for long. I’m not very good with commitment I guess,” He said dejectedly, but then his eyes lit up. “A while back I was a cook at McDonald’s, and that was actually pretty fun. Me and the other cooks would get into so many shenanigans.” Alfred laughed and Arthur grinned at him. 

“Did you ever try to go back there to work when you lost your other job?” Arthur asked.

“Eh I thought about it, but they don’t pay jack-shit. I had to look for jobs with a higher income, cuz you can’t pay rent with a McDonalds cook’s salary. Believe me.”

That was true. And as much as Arthur detested McDonalds, he was thankful that at least they provided Alfred with a positive work experience while it lasted.

Arthur looked at the clock and saw that it was getting late, which meant it was almost time to ask the question he’d been dreading. Did Alfred want to stay the night? He knew he couldn’t force the man to stay even though he desperately wanted him to, just the thought of Alfred going back to that brick building alone in the dark made his skin crawl.

It was now or never.

“Erm, Alfred?” He had his undivided attention instantly. “I was wondering if you’d thought about whether or not you’d like to stay here tonight.”

The American’s eyes widened considerably and he looked down.

Arthur felt his heart clench. “I just want you to know that you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. And honestly I’d much prefer if you didn’t go back out there. I’m also pretty sure it’s supposed to storm.” Arthur had seen that on the news earlier about the impending thunderstorms coming their way.

Alfred shot up in his seat, looking much more fearful than Arthur had ever seen him. “Storm?? Oh shit, I didn’t know that.” He ran a hand through his hair unnervingly, tugging a bit at the ends. “I-I guess if you don’t mind, yeah I’d like to stay the night.”

“Oh please, I don’t mind at all! Honestly, how many times must I tell you? I want you to stay. Plus tomorrow is Saturday so I don’t work. If you want we can go out and get you some new clothes, or walk around the city a bit, or anything else you want to do..” He was afraid he was starting to sound desperate but it looked like Alfred didn’t notice.

Alfred heaved a sigh and suddenly looked a lot less fearful and a lot more thoughtful. “Has anyone ever told you that you should be a salesman?” There was a smirk playing at his lips.

Arthur smiled too. “No. Why? Am I persuasive?”

“Just a bit, yeah,” he laughed. “Oookay Arthur. You got me. But if you want me to leave for any reason PLEASE don’t hesitate to tell me. I really don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“Deal.”

The smiles on their faces lingered as they tidied up and started to get ready for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's adventure with cooking is basically my life. I've never been a good cook but I've recently tried experimenting and sometimes it comes out pretty good! Arthur was lucky to have Alfred as his sous chef, no doubt he would have burned down his kitchen otherwise lol


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: panic attack and mentions of homophobia

As Alfred lay down on the plush bed in Arthur's guest room, he thought over the whirlwind of excitement from that day. Just a few hours earlier he was still in rags and suffering from an empty stomach and feeling an overwhelming emptiness in general. But then Arthur had shown up and proved that he was more than just a selfish businessman who had no remorse for his actions.

The Englishman had shown more kindness in the last few hours than Alfred had gotten in a very long time. Even when he still had a job he felt lonely, not that he ever let it show. He tried to maintain his happy exterior and push through the crappy things life threw his way. New York City was unforgiving to a man that lacked strong self-motivation and willingness to stomp on others in order to climb to the top. He just wasn't that kind of person. Maybe his parents were right, maybe he never should have moved to this city in the first place. 

But hey, at least one good thing came of it: Arthur. And if Arthur was honest about wanting a friend then Alfred was all for it. He seemed different than anyone Alfred had ever met, and he felt that they might have some sort of connection - despite being on complete opposite ends of the lifestyle spectrum. 

He felt a tickle of elation course through him at the thought of getting to know his host better, maybe even cooking with him again in the future! But seriously, Arthur really needed some help in the food department. A few hours prior Alfred could tell the poor guy was struggling with cooking dinner, so of course he had to step in. It was surprising that Arthur couldn't smell that the sauce had been burning, Alfred could smell it from down the hall and was happy to intervene when he did. 

Even though it had been a simple act of preparing dinner, the night had been so enjoyable that Alfred felt more hopeful than he had in a long time. And the idea of spending the following day together was really thrilling! God it felt nice to have something to look forward to... 

He settled more comfortably into the soft sheets, wrapping himself up like a cocoon and just breathing in the smell of a clean bed and freshly washed blankets. His eyes began to get heavy and his mind wavered down a senseless trail of thoughts, where he finally conceded as he succumbed to the sleep he so desperately needed.

 

* * *

**BOOM!**

Alfred shot up in bed, clutching his chest and frantically looking around the darkness, trying to figure out where he was and what was happening. A bright flash emanating from the window illuminated the room and Alfred's surroundings, and he finally remembered that he was staying with Arthur in his guest bedroom.

Another strike of thunder sounded outside, louder this time. It almost felt that the storm was happening directly above the apartment building and Alfred couldn't stop the terror that raked its way down his chest. He willed his heart rate to slow but to no avail. 

Alfred hated thunderstorms. Hated them. And he had never heard thunder this loud before. 

Another flash of light blinded him. His body started to panic. He could feel his heart racing, his palms sweating, and worst of all the tears that started the flow down his face, unstoppable. 

It had been so long since he'd had a panic attack, and he especially didn't want one here! It was completely unacceptable and inappropriate for a grown man to act this way. But unfortunately his attempts to shame himself into calming down were unsuccessful, and his crying got worse until he had to stifle the whimpers with his hand. That didn't work either so he buried his head underneath the blankets and covered his ears, hoping that doing so would block out the thunderous noises. His entire body felt weak and the fear had not lessened. It felt like the storm had been raging on for hours but it must have been only a couple of minutes. 

Another boom of thunder had the building shaking from the sheer force of it, and Alfred could no longer stifle his sobs, even as his face was planted into the mattress. 

He thought he heard a subtle noise from the hallway but couldn't find it in himself to focus on it. Suddenly a soft knocking came from the door. 

His eyes bulged as he realized Arthur had probably woken up because he heard him fucking _crying_. Oh god this was horrible, he didn't want the other to see him this way. If Arthur thought he had already seen Alfred at his lowest, he was in for a surprise. 

He tried to even out his voice to reply, "Yeah?" 

"Alfred, may I come in?" 

Shit. "Um," he took a few deep breaths, "I don't think that's a good idea.." 

A few seconds of silence ticked by. Then, "Please?" 

Who was he to deny his host from entering a room in his own apartment? He granted entry with a sigh, "Okay fine." 

The door opened and Arthur stepped inside gingerly, but Alfred could barely hear the footsteps as his head was still tucked under the blankets. How pitiful he must look. 

“Are you alright?”

Alfred felt the gentle touch of a hand on his shoulder. He took another deep breath and wiped at his eyes before emerging from the cocoon he had created to protect himself.

“Yeah, definitely, I’m good don’t worry.” His smile was fake and watery and he knew Arthur could tell, but he prayed he would just let it go and return to bed. Of course that didn’t happen. 

“Are you scared of the thunder, perchance?” Arthur looked so worried and frazzled with his hair sticking in all directions. If Alfred hadn’t still been recovering from his panic attack he would have laughed because it was so weird to see Arthur in anything other than the tailored suits he wore every day, and Alfred definitely didn’t expect to see the Englishman sporting adorable green rabbit pajamas. Arthur looked smaller almost, and so much less intimidating. But that didn’t mean Alfred was ready to pour his heart out to him! 

“I just, umm, the storm kinda freaked me out, that’s all. Sorry if I woke you up.” 

“Oh, actually the thunder woke me up. It shook my whole bedroom! I was pretty freaked out as well, I’ll admit.” He paused, “Can I get you anything? Water?”

Alfred nodded and Arthur disappeared briefly to retrieve a glass of water. When he returned Alfred drank it enthusiastically, savoring the way the cool liquid hydrated his dry throat. Once he finished, he sat on the edge of the bed with the empty glass in his hand, twisting it around anxiously. Arthur’s eyes were on him, he could tell, but he didn’t really know what to say. 

Thankfully Arthur broke the silence for him. “So… do you want to talk about it?” It sounded like he was so unsure of himself, clearly not therapist material. And awkward enough that it looked like he was torn between offering Alfred a hug or just flat-out bolting from the room. 

Honestly, did Alfred want to talk about it? Especially with someone he barely knew? One quick look at Arthur’s big green eyes and concerned expression answered that question for him. “It’s just that I’m pretty scared of thunderstorms. I know it’s stupid. But everything bad always happens during thunderstorms and I guess I’ve grown an aversion towards them.” 

“Everything bad? Like what? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Oh man, Alfred really did not want to open this can of worms. But maybe talking about it would be good for him. He never really spoke with anyone about his issues, but people always said it was good to let it all out right? 

“One time when I was little lightning struck a tree and it fell on my house during a thunderstorm. Completely destroyed the roof, and we didn’t have the money to fix it for so long. It could have been worse though, like at least it wasn’t strong enough to crush the house, but it was still pretty terrifying.” He shook his head to halt the flashbacks that were popping up, surfacing all the emotions he felt when he was young. He continued on, “A couple years later my dog ran away in a thunderstorm and we never saw him again. It was weird cuz usually dogs hide during storms but for some reason he got out and ran off. We thought he would eventually come back home…but he never did.” 

Arthur sat on the bed next to him and took the glass from his shaky hands, setting if off to the side. “I’m so sorry to hear that. That must have been very… difficult for you and your family. I can see why you hate storms so much.” 

“Thanks man.” He turned his neck to smile at his companion, feeling thankful for the support but also hoping he didn’t give too much away. He never had much of a filter and had to stop himself from talking too much sometimes. But he had to admit it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, maybe talking about his problems wasn’t such a bad thing after all. 

“So are your parents still around?” 

…and then again, maybe it was. 

“Uhhhh,” Alfred spluttered unintelligibly, unsure how to answer.

Arthur floundered, “I’m sorry! That was rude. Forget I asked that.” He stood abruptly, as if to exit the room. But even in his discomfort, Alfred didn’t want him to go. 

“It’s okay, you deserve the truth. I mean, you’re letting me stay here so you should know some of my background.” Alfred sighed, “Yeah, my parents are still around. They actually live in Delaware, that’s where I grew up.” 

The Englishman nodded with a blank look on his face. Alfred chuckled. “Delaware is below New Jersey, it’s like three hours driving from here.” 

The blank look morphed into recognition. “Ah! Wow, a bit of a drive isn’t it?” 

He laughed again, “Nah you kidding? Three hours is nothing in America! Why, is that how long it takes to cross your entire country?”

“Good heavens no! Dear lord, how small do you think England is??” His face was turning red with anger and Alfred would have been daunted had it not been for the pajamas, like seriously Arthur looked like he walked right out of a children’s book. This guy was undoubtedly not as scary as Alfred originally thought. 

He put his hands up in mock surrender but grinned regardless. “I’ve never been there, how would I know?” 

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him. “Well you should! And educate yourself on the brilliance of my homeland while you’re at it.” 

Alfred’s grin slowly dropped, and he replied wistfully, “Yeah, maybe one day. That’d be pretty cool; I’ve never been out of the country before.” 

He felt kind of bad for Arthur because it looked like the smaller man wanted to smack himself on the head, once realizing that clearly Alfred had no means to travel to England even if he desired to. 

“Sorry, you’re right. Well you never know, maybe one day soon you will have the chance to go abroad.” 

Doubtful, but it was a nice thought. He moved his head in a way that could have been a nod if Arthur wanted one, but didn’t respond verbally. 

They stared at each other, only the quiet sound of distant thunder rolling in the background. It appeared that Arthur was thinking, and he eventually asked, “Do you need help going to Delaware?” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” 

“I mean do you need help getting there, do you want money for a bus ticket or something?”

Alfred frowned. “No, why would I want to go there?” 

“Uh, because your family is there you said. Don’t you want to be with them? They could probably help you right?” 

“Ohhh. No. Ha ha _definitely_ not.” He was opening all different cans of worms today wasn’t he? 

Arthur frowned right back at him. “But do they know of your situation here? Surely they would want to help their own son if they knew you were sleeping on the streets!” 

Alfred put his head in his hands and exhaled a shaky breath. So much for not giving too much away. “They kicked me out a few years ago, I’m not really welcome there anymore.” He didn’t look up at Arthur but he could tell by the lack of movement that his companion was shocked. 

“Well that’s completely preposter-“ 

“They probably wouldn’t even care if I called them up right now and told them I don’t have a place to live. They’d just say they told me so.” 

“They can’t possibly be that cruel, can they? Why would they kick you out? You seem like wonderful man.” 

Fear was crawling its way into Alfred’s heart, as it always did whenever he disclosed this piece of information about himself. What if Arthur had the same reaction his parents did? He didn’t know how open-minded the Englishman was. 

“Let’s just say their religious beliefs don’t exactly coincide with my sexuality…” He didn’t dare look at Arthur now. “I should never have told them, but it felt awful keeping it bottled up for so long. I wanted them to know the truth about me. And so they told me I had to leave, I mean I was 22 at the time so it was okay because I had to get a job anyway and I wanted to start a new life here. They were so against me moving to New York, saying I would never make it and I should stay local even though I couldn’t keep living at home blah blah blah. I hated living down there though. They don’t call it ‘Slower Lower’ for nothing.” 

Arthur was quiet for a very long time, which set Alfred on edge. When he finally looked up, he saw the man was completely red in the face again, although the anger didn’t seem to be directed at him this time. He hoped. 

“They’re homophobic,” Arthur stated matter-of-fact. 

Alfred gave a small shrug of affirmation. 

The expression in Arthur’s eyes hardened, “Well then they’re shite. Who needs them! Kicking their own son out because he’s gay? Unbelievable! I swear I’ll go down there right now and –“ 

Hearing his parents being called “shite” from a stern British guy was almost too much for Alfred, and he doubled over laughing at the rant about how horrible his parents were. Obviously Alfred already knew, but it was nice to have validation from someone who never even met them. It looked like he didn’t need to worry about Arthur being close-minded after all. 

After Arthur settled down from his tirade, the two chatted a little while longer before they simultaneously realized how late it was. There was still time to catch a few more hours of sleep before sunrise, so Arthur wished him goodnight and left Alfred alone. 

He hadn’t even been here a full day and already Alfred never wanted to leave. How quickly things can change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope no one is offended by the "Slower Lower" comment, although I know people from Delaware who really do say that. I enjoyed giving Alfred some backstory. The whole bit about the tree falling on his house actually happened to my family a few years ago, so that was scary. Stupid storm.
> 
> Question: Are the USUK fanfic readers older like me or are there still a lot of teens that are just getting into the fandom? I'm super super curious what the fan demographic is nowadays.


	10. Chapter 10

Arthur’s eyes blearily blinked open, beams of daylight cascading from the drawn curtains in his bedroom tearing him from his slumber. How long had he slept last night? Maybe five hours? 

He sat up and stretched languidly as he recalled the conversation with Alfred, and his chest felt light and content. It was so rare to meet a person so genuine and good-natured, and he truly felt that Alfred was like a rare daisy blooming amidst a field of rubbish. After everything that poor boy went through, he still smiled as if the sun had manifested itself on his face. He was beautiful and charismatic and although Arthur still couldn’t believe it, the urge to help this man was so strong that he was unsure the lengths he would go in order to make Alfred happy. 

Arthur couldn’t even remember the last time he had felt this way. In fact, had he _ever_ felt this way? Even his past relationships seemed selfish, each person trying to take as much as they could from the other. It was exhausting at times, but Arthur was always one for competition and had no qualms when presented with the opportunity to get the upper hand. It made him an integral role at work, but bitter and heartless in any sort of dating scenario. 

So what a breath of fresh air this was. Not feeling the need to take, but actually caring to give. And give he would! 

He was in a rather peppy mood, and he climbed out of bed to go make himself a cup of tea. He wasn’t sure if Alfred liked tea, or when the man would wake up, so just a cup for himself would do for now. 

With a spring in his step, he set about boiling the water in the kettle and taking a seat by a lovely little alcove in his living room, but not before selecting a book off the shelf. With the book sat in his hands, he took a moment to stare out the window, taking in the way the sunbeams scattered through the windows of the buildings surrounding his own. It must have been early still, but he had no desire to return to bed. 

Arthur got in a few minutes of peaceful reading before his kettle whistled, prompting him to fill his mug and dunk a sweet-smelling teabag into it. He returned to the alcove and resumed reading for a while longer. 

* * *

A decent amount of time had passed before he heard the guestroom door opening, and out strolled Alfred lugging his feet and rubbing the sleep from his tired blue eyes. He looked exhausted as he glanced around before his eyes settled on Arthur nestled by the window. He smiled slightly before making his way over. 

Arthur smiled back. “Good morning sleeping beauty,” silently snickering at the mussed up hair and barely concealed yawn. “Have you decided to rejoin the land of the living?” 

Alfred smirked at the sarcasm. “Aw c’mon, it can’t be that late, can it?” 

“It’s half ten.” 

“Oh please, that’s nothing. I used to sleep until two in the afternoon when I was a teen!” 

He gaped at the man standing in front of him. That was an entire half-day wasted! “Are you taking the piss??” He questioned, surely the man couldn’t be serious. 

Alfred’s eyes widened comically before he looked down at his pants, looking for all the world as if he were about to have a meltdown. “What the hell are you talking about?? I didn’t piss myself!” He pulled at the crotch area of the sleep pants before smoothing it out again quickly. The blush on his face was humorous enough but the misunderstanding in general was too much for Arthur. He had forgotten that not all Americans understood good old British slang. 

The laughter bubbled up inside him until he had nearly doubled over with an incessant cackle, clutching his chest until he almost couldn’t breathe. Alfred just stood there blushing, but starting to look more amused rather than embarrassed as Arthur’s laughter finally subsided. 

He wiped at a tear in his eye. “Oh my, that was funny.” 

“…What the hell man,” Alfred replied with false ferocity, unable to keep the smile from his lips. “What was funny about that? You nearly gave me a heart attack; I thought I had actually wet myself for a second there.” He huffed childishly. 

“It’s an expression. I just meant ‘are you joking’, that’s all.” 

“Ahh.” His mouth pressed into a straight line and he nodded thoughtfully. “Welp. Learn something new every day, amiright?” He looked to Arthur with a bashful expression, the residual pinkness of his flush still apparent. At least he looked more awake. “I can’t believe you had that laugh in you.” 

“What do you mean?” His brows furrowed. 

“I don’t know, I just feel like your laughs are rare. I may be wrong, obviously I don’t know you that well,” the _yet_ was left unsaid. “But still, it threw me off. You’re unpredictable, Arthur.” He flashed his teeth in a grin. 

“Are you insinuating that you thought I was just a stuffy old Englishman?” 

Alfred laughed, “Nah you can’t be that old. You look like you’re 28, max.” 

“First of all I’m thirty years old. Second of all now you’re implying that you _do_ think I’m stuffy.” Arthur was trying and failing to keep a straight face, and Alfred must have noticed. 

“Damnnn you’re thirty? Wow you _are_ old!” 

Arthur tried very hard not to admire Alfred’s dimples as he laughed at his expense. “Oh shut up,” he said with absolutely no malice in his voice. 

He wasn’t accustomed to starting his weekend off with playful banter but he had to admit it was infinitely more enjoyable than his normal routine of sipping his tea in the dead silence of his lonely flat. Alfred certainly kept things more lively and interesting.

“So would you care for some tea?” 

Alfred hid his grimace a second too late. “Uh no thanks, I’m more of a coffee guy haha. Plus, tea doesn’t have too much flavor.” 

Arthur resented that. “It does if you make it correctly! Come now, I’ll fix you a cup and you can see for yourself.” He got up and made his way to the kitchen, beckoning Alfred to follow. He would prove to his guest that tea was better than coffee. 

After preparing the mug, he placed it on the table in front of where Alfred was sitting. And although he never put sugar in his own tea, he had a feeling Alfred had a sweet tooth and so he added a spoonful and stirred it in. 

Arthur sat there, waiting expectantly as Alfred sipped at the tea.

"So? How does it fare?" 

"Well..I guess it's pretty good but I still prefer coffee. Sorry," Alfred said with a shrug on his shoulders. 

Arthur grumbled to himself. Now that was complete blasphemy. He was preparing a counterargument when all of a sudden his phone started to vibrate. He glanced down at it and groaned audibly upon seeing who was calling him. _Francis Bonnefoy._  

Arthur was hoping he had gotten rid of that imbecile for good when he left Europe, but it seemed no matter the distance put between them, Francis still managed to worm his way back into Arthur's life. 

After scowling at his screen for a few seconds, he answered the call. "You better make this quick," he stated in his most acidic tone. 

He heard a chortle on the other end. "Ah mon ami, always so kind to me. I wanted to check on you to see if you are surviving the American lifestyle." 

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Of course I am!" He snapped before realizing that Alfred was staring at him openly from the other side of the table. Deciding that this conversation was better to be had behind closed doors, he got up and said with all the politeness he could muster, “Would you excuse me for a moment.” 

“Sure, go ahead,” Alfred replied, hint of curiosity in his voice. 

Arthur went down the hallway and into his room, shutting the door behind him, all the while with the phone pressed up against his ear and not a peep coming from Francis. It was a very telling pause and Arthur knew exactly what the Frenchman was thinking. 

“Arthur…who was that?” 

“No one.” 

“No, I must know,” Francis drawled in that smarmy French way of his. “Are you not at home? Why is there another man with you? You told me you would be living alone.” Arthur could practically _hear_ the smirk on his face. 

“It’s absolutely none of your business.” 

“Oh ho ho, it is! Big brother was so worried you would not even make a single friend, but here you are with a man in your home after only two weeks in New York! He must be very special, no?” 

Arthur felt his face turning red and his lips furled as he growled out, “He IS just a friend. Nothing more.” 

“Ah, but is it not morning there? You invited a new friend to your house so early? Or was it a _sleepover_?”

Curse the frog for being so astute and nosy. Arthur was sure the Frenchman’s eyebrows were wiggling up and down and he wanted nothing more at that moment than to buy a flight to France to strangle the insufferable buffoon. 

He took a deep breath to reduce the anger that was brewing inside of him. “As I said before, it’s none of your business.”

There was a sigh on the other end. “At least tell me where you met him. Did you finally go to a pub or one of those crazy nightclubs I always see in the movies? I would be surprised, you know how hard I tried to take you out to dance, but you never would! It was tragic for me. And now you move to a different continent and you go to a nightclub without me!” 

Arthur could definitely feel an oncoming headache; he pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did he answer the phone again? 

“I didn’t go to a bloody nightclub! I’ve been much too busy with my new job to partake in such fruitless activities.” 

“So then this man is a coworker of yours! I’m impressed with you, Arthur. I did not think you were capable of taking such a high risk like this.” 

“He’s not a coworker! I met him on the street!!” Arthur shouted angrily, before quickly replaying his own words in his head and realizing how it suggestive it sounded. 

There was another long pause from the other end of the line. “My my … You have become a completely new person! I cannot believe you hired a prostitute you met on the street! Big brother is so proud of you!”

“HE’S NOT A BLOODY PROSTITUTE!” Arthur roared, feeling utterly embarrassed and irritated. He recognized too late the volume of his voice most definitely penetrated the walls of his flat, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach at the prospect of Alfred hearing this entire humiliating conversation. He lowered his voice significantly before he ground out, “I will tell you only a few things about him and then you’ll leave it be. Understand?” 

There was snickering on the other end. “Oui, oui.” 

He sighed. “I am housing a homeless man in the _guest room_ of my flat. Not with me in my bed! I don’t know for how long, and I’ve only just met him the other day. He’s incredibly kind and I am happy to help him for as long as he needs it. That’s it!” 

Arthur heard an audible “hmmmmm” from Francis, he wasn’t sure what to make of that but he could feel his headache worsening. “So you are telling me that you willingly have a homeless person sleeping in your house? You have no…ah what do you call it…ulterior motives? Has the brutish Arthur Kirkland finally grown a heart?” 

“Yeah,” he stated flatly. He wanted to be done with this already. “Was that all? Can I hang up now?”

“Hmm, you gave me a lot to think about. And I have more questions that I’ll save for a later time.” 

“Wonderful. Goodbye.” 

Francis laughed briefly, “Yes okay. Goodbye mon petit amour!” 

Arthur growled, “Don’t call me that!” before hitting the ‘end call’ button more ferociously than necessary. What a complete tool. He swore that man would be the death of him one day. 

He let his heart rate slow before delicately exiting his room to rejoin Alfred in the kitchen area. 

Alfred had definitely heard most, if not all, of the conversation that had just taken place because he was sitting with the empty mug in his hands, twisting it around, as it seemed to be his telltale sign of nervousness. Alfred was also staring at the mug too intently, trying and failing to appear inconspicuous. 

While it was amusing to watch the other man try so hard, Arthur decided not to beat around the bush; there was no use skirting around each other awkwardly all the time. “I’m sorry if you uh…heard all that. The man who called me is an absolute pain in my arse and never leaves me alone. Always with the constant questions and prying.” 

Alfred finally looked up at him. “Seems like a fun guy.”

“That’s not the adjective I’d use to describe him, but he certainly can be entertaining. He just doesn’t understand boundaries.” 

"Gotcha. Sooo he thought I was…like…a hooker?" 

Arthur grimaced and prayed that he wouldn’t start blushing. "You could say that. He has a very dirty mind. It's a French thing I suppose." 

Alfred exhaled a laugh, "That's true. Is it bad that I’ve thought about it though? Like being a hooker? They actually make really good money." 

His eyes widened considerably as the shock played out on his face. “Oh my god. Please don’t. You don’t need to start doing that to make money! What you need is a stable form of employment. I can help you apply for jobs if you’d like! Please tell me you won’t resort to that out of desperation.” 

The poor man hung his head in what looked like shame. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” 

"You don't need to be apologising!” he said frantically. “Now then, let's change the subject. Would you like to go for a bite to eat somewhere? And we could go shopping for clothes afterward? I’ll bet we can find you a nice suit to impress the hiring managers at your future interviews." The optimism was flowing out of him like lava, which was so different from his normal pessimistic attitude but he felt the irresistible need to overcompensate for the sadness on Alfred’s face. 

"Uh well...it's all up to you," his voice was small and uncomfortable and Arthur didn't like it one bit. He was hoping that they had moved past the uncertainty because Arthur had made it clear that he didn't mind spending money on his guest. But it seemed that the other man did still have qualms about accepting the help. Was it out of pride? Or modesty? He suspected it was the latter. 

Arthur moved closer to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need to feel bad about getting help. I’ve already told you that I want to do this for you. If there is anything that you want or need, don’t hesitate to ask.” 

Alfred sat there contemplating this before saying rather humorously, “Sounds kinda like a sugar daddy to me.” 

He let his hand drop off Alfred’s shoulder dramatically. Well that completely ruined the comforting mood he had worked so hard to construct. He knew Alfred was just pushing his buttons to get a reaction, so he glared at the younger man scornfully. “Oh shut up, will you?”

Even as Alfred giggled at him, he felt content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How’s my British? LOL I struggle so hard to not make Arthur sound American, some things I get right but other times I literally have to google “DO PEOPLE IN ENGLAND SAY…”  
> Super pathetic hahaha but I bet there are more Americans reading this story than English people so I should be safe right? XD


	11. Chapter 11

Alfred hadn’t been to a Starbucks in forever. He thought that the coffee was pretty decent, but it was way too expensive and so he tended not to splurge on a drink he could get somewhere else for half the cost. They did offer some pretty interesting flavors though, all equally sweet and delicious, and Alfred felt his mouth watering just roaming his eyes over the menu posted on the wall.

He finally decided on a decadent chocolate Frappuccino, piled high with whipped cream and syrup drizzled over the top. Oh man, he was going to enjoy this to the very last drop. When was the last time he had a treat like this? He almost couldn’t believe that Arthur actually proposed to come here, it seemed like the man had never set foot in a Starbucks before. 

Alfred watched Arthur with humored interest; the shorter man had spent a great deal of time racking his eyes over the menu only to grow more and more irritated (no doubt because he couldn’t find his desired tea as an option). 

“Excuse me,” Arthur called out to the barista who had been waiting for him to pick something and pay. “Where is your tea selection? I don’t want a chai latte tazo whatever-the-hell! I just want a normal tea, hot – as it should be. None of that iced crap!” 

The barista stared at him, unimpressed, and blinked slowly. “We have plenty of choices,” she stated while bringing up a box full of different brands. “Green, black, white, herbal – take your pick.” 

Arthur murmured a “that’s more like it” under his breath before taking the box from her and rummaging through it. 

Alfred stood off to the side with his drink already made, watching the line gradually get longer and longer behind Arthur. He knew by now that Arthur was a no-shame kind of guy, he probably didn’t care that people were waiting. Unfortunately, the barista did. 

“Sir, have you decided yet?” she asked with a rushed inclination, gesturing vaguely to the box in Arthur’s hands. 

He narrowed his eyes at her. “This is a very delicate procedure. If I pick the wrong tea, it could completely ruin the rest of my day. We wouldn’t want that, now would we?” He picked up two different tea bags and studied them closely. 

Alfred had to bite his lip from chuckling at the barista’s reaction, she looked like she was ready to explode. 

“ _Sir_ ,” she tried, “please pick one!”

“Fine, you inconsiderate slag. I’ll take this herbal one then,” he said while thrusting the tea bag in front of her. Alfred’s eyebrows shot up, _damn Arthur was nasty sometimes!_  

She took it in a huff and then got a cup from the side. “Name?” 

“Beg your pardon?” 

Alfred leaned in close to Arthur, “She needs your name to write on the cup.” 

The Englishman hummed in reply, “It’s Arthur.” 

The barista looked at him, “Author?” 

He frowned. “No. _Arthur_.” 

“Oh I’m sorry, I can’t understand your accent. Can you repeat that again?”   
  
Alfred covered his mouth to hide his giggles. The barista was totally fucking with him and he couldn’t say that Arthur didn’t deserve it. That’s what happens when you treat workers in New York City rudely. 

And Arthur looked more pissed then ever. “My accent is perfectly understandable thank you! You need to get your hearing checked. And you know what, make that _Mr. Kirkland_ to you.” 

The barista looked at him with an unreadable expression. “Of course, Mr. Kirkland,” she said with false innocence while scribbling the name on the cup.

After paying for the two drinks and finally allowing the next couple in line to order, Alfred and Arthur moved to the side. 

“So it’s your first time in a Starbucks?” Alfred asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
“Yes, and my last! I suggested going here because I always hear how obsessed Americans are with the place. God only knows why...I just thought you’d prefer this to other cafes.” He pointed down to the giant Frappuccino in Alfred’s hands, “and I doubt you’d be able to find that monstrosity elsewhere. It looks disgusting by the way.”  
  
Alfred pouted, “Hey! Don’t judge! This shit is delicious, you gotta try it.” He held it out to Arthur who put his hand up in disgust. 

“No thanks, I’ll wait for my tea while you subject your body to diabetes.” 

“Rude,” Alfred stuck his tongue out at him. 

Finally a different barista placed a ready-made hot tea on the counter and called out, “Mr. Cockland? Tea for Mr. Cockland?” 

Alfred’s face scrunched up before he burst out laughing. Arthur on the other hand turned bright red. Then he whirled his head around to the register where the first barista was. She looked at him and gave the sweetest smile before turning back to the client she was helping. 

Arthur’s eye twitched. He grabbed his drink off the counter and then grabbed Alfred’s shirt to drag him out of the coffee shop. 

When they were safely outside and Alfred’s laughter died down, he took a moment to appreciate just how angry the other man looked. “C’mon, you have to admit that was funny.” 

“No it was not! It was inappropriate, and uncalled for I might add. She’s lucky I don’t report her,” he tapped his foot irately. 

Alfred rolled his eyes, “Yeah but you were kind of a douchebag.” 

“What are you saying? That I deserved it?” Arthur narrowed his piercing green eyes at him, and it reminded Alfred so much of a few days earlier when Arthur had yelled at him for trying to return his money.

He tried to hide the sudden stab of dejection. “I’m just saying you should be nicer to people, especially when their job is to serve you. You shouldn’t act like you’re better than them, that’s all. Everyone deserves respect…servers, waiters…even the homeless,” he tacked on. 

The other man started to fidget uncomfortably, mulling over Alfred’s words. He turned the cup over in his hands to look at the name ‘Mr. Cockland’ written across it in big black letters. Finally he let out a heavy sigh and raked a hand through his hair. “You’re right. I…need to work on that don’t I?”

Alfred gave him a small smile and stated encouragingly, “Don’t worry, I can help you.” 

“You think you can reverse three decades of mistrust and egotism thrust on me by my family and friends?” 

Alfred beamed at him, undaunted. “Of course!” 

His positivity must have been infectious because Arthur smiled back at him. “Okay then. Before we start training,” he started jokingly, “why don’t we sit and enjoy our drinks?” He motioned to the outdoor seating area, where there was an empty table with two chairs. 

“Sure,” Alfred affirmed as they made their way over and sat down. 

Arthur snorted, “So is this what Americans do to pass time? Buy overpriced coffee and talk aimlessly for hours?” 

The younger man tapped his chin in fake thought, “Hmmmm well yeah, mostly the chicks though. Or people on dates.” Shit, he did not mean to say that last part. He didn’t let Arthur ponder his words before asking quickly, “Why, what do British people do?” 

“Go to a pub of course, I must say I’d fancy a pint after that interaction with the barista…” He put his elbow on the table and held his chin in his hand. 

“Hahaha! It’s too early to drink!”

Arthur looked at him incredulously before asserting, “It’s _never_ too early to drink.” 

Alfred couldn’t tell if he was kidding but it seemed like he wasn’t. He mentally added ‘heavy drinker’ to his steadily-growing list of things he knew about the Englishman. 

“You Brits must really like your liquor,” he said amusingly. 

“Oh you don’t know the half of it. I could drink anyone under the table in my hometown,” Arthur stated confidently with a smirk on his face. 

Alfred smirked back at him. “Impressive. I’m not a huge drinker though, I’ll leave that to you.” He threw in a wink for good measure. 

“Well that’s a shame… so you don’t know of any good pubs around here then?” 

“Um no not really, I’ve never really been to a pub actually, I prefer clubs so I can dance. Pubs just make me think of tiny, dimly lit bars that serve fish and chips with beer. Not really my thing.” 

Arthur did not look happy. And he was definitely pouting. “That’s not all that pubs have to offer! Especially in England! I don’t know what kind of crap goes on here but there has to be an authentic English pub somewhere in this godforsaken city.” 

Alfred laughed. “You’re probably right. We’ll just have to do a bar crawl one night to find the best English pub!” 

The Englishman contemplated this before nodding in agreement. 

They went on to discuss other topics, from their alcoholic drinks of choice to their college experiences, to favorite subjects in school, and Alfred even got Arthur to open up about his childhood a bit! 

An hour and a half had gone by before Alfred started thinking more and more about how much it felt like a date. The two of them, sitting outside enjoying the sunny weather talking and laughing and generally enjoying each others’ company. It was exciting of course, but he also didn’t know if his companion felt the same attraction. He still didn’t even know if the man swung that way! Alfred had let his sexuality slip the night before, but Arthur hadn’t alluded to his own preferences, and Alfred wasn’t sure how to feel about that. 

It was also weird that Arthur was paying for everything. Alfred felt bad about it, of course, but it wasn’t like he had any money anyway and Arthur clearly had the funds and had no qualms with spending it. The guy was seriously loaded. And Alfred was only a little bit jealous. 

If he had that kind of money he was be donating it to charities to give back to the community. Of course he had nothing against the Englishman about spending his own money however he wanted… it was just interesting seeing the contrast between their two upbringings and lifestyles. Alfred had never been on a date with someone posh, or ‘bougie’, or whatever. He tended to go for the tamer, quieter, and laid back men – the ones who had a few part time jobs and preferred to play video games rather than go to work. 

Arthur wasn’t like that at all. He was hot-headed, quick-witted, and devoted to the painstaking time and effort to do good work. Alfred could tell the man was a force to be reckoned with. And, for some reason, he really liked it. He liked that Arthur was sarcastic and honest and spoke his mind even when he probably shouldn’t. He liked that the man acted all tough and fierce one second but the next turned all wide-eyed and adorable the next second. 

Speaking of his eyes, they were just _gorgeous_. Green eyes were rare in general but Arthur’s were absolutely mesmerizing. The way the light was reflected in the little gold flecks of his irises captivated Alfred and he couldn’t stop staring, watching Arthur talk animatedly until he paused and gave Alfred a weird look. 

“Well?” 

Alfred shook his head to redirect his attention; he had completely zoned out. “Huh? Sorry, what’d you say?” 

“I asked if you wanted to move on to the suit shopping?” 

“Aw but I was having so much fun here!” 

“You weren’t even listening to me while I was speaking!” Arthur shouted, scowling at him. 

“I sorta was,” he giggled, shrugging his shoulders and radiating innocence. 

“My arse you were,” was the response. He abruptly stood up, grabbing the long-finished cups off the table and tossing them in the garbage. “Are you coming or not?” 

“Yeah yeah hold your horses,” Alfred replied whilst standing and stretching his arms up to the sky. 

They weaved their way through the people sitting and chatting and started down the street. Arthur was using the GPS on his phone in order to find the ‘perfect’ place to buy nicely tailored suits and Alfred followed his lead. 

After only walking a few blocks, Arthur came to a halt in front of a store with a name that Alfred couldn’t pronounce. There were luxurious tuxedos on perfectly posed mannequins in the window and even the tiny light bulbs in the display case looked expensive. Alfred’s stomach dropped. This was the kind of store he wouldn’t spare a passing glance; he didn’t belong here! 

Arthur held the door open and when he noticed that Alfred was not inching any closer, he dragged him inside whispering “ _it’ll be fine_ ”. 

The place was a lot bigger than it looked. Tons of suits lined the walls, sorted by color and style. There was a section for wedding suits, professional suits, everyday suits – what the heck was an everyday suit?? It was very overwhelming, and Alfred couldn’t help but feel extremely out of place surrounded by such affluent clothing.

A clerk spotted the two men and approached them. “How can I help you two today?”

Arthur took the lead. “Well, we were hoping to find a classic suit for him,” he gestured to Alfred with a nod. 

The clerk responded, “Very well, follow me please.” He brought them to a long line of suits toward the back of the shop, a varying array of blues and blacks poking out from the rack. 

Alfred gulped. They all looked exactly the same! How was he supposed to pick one? 

Thank god Arthur seemed to know the “ins and outs” of suit shopping. After pulling a bunch of suits from the rack and discussing with the clerk which would be the most appropriate for a typical work setting, he ushered Alfred along to the changing room to try them on. 

He stared at himself in the big mirrors lining all sides of his dressing room, feeling caged and uncomfortable. In the brightness of the contained space he could see his body so clearly. Like the bags under his eyes and the gauntness of his face. He removed his shirt and examined the way his ribs bulged out. He had never looked so ugly, he decided. The lackluster eyes and pale skin was nothing reminiscent of how he used to look. Something had to change; he couldn’t go on looking like hallowed version of himself. 

“Everything okay in there?” he heard Arthur ask from the other side of the closed door. 

“Uh huh, hold on,” Alfred took the first suit off the hanger and quickly began to change, praying it wouldn’t look overly baggy on his emaciated figure. 

He carefully stepped out of the changing room in a dark blue jacket and matching dress pants, awaiting a reaction from the Englishman.

 Arthur looked pensive, with a hand on his chin in thought as he assessed Alfred’s outfit. 

It was making him kinda nervous. 

“Sooo, what do you think?” 

Arthur came forward to button the first button on the jacket, and to hike up the pants so they weren’t hanging so low off Alfred’s hips. Alfred managed to not overtly blush at the manhandling, just letting Arthur tweak and correct any imperfections he saw. 

At last he sighed and shook his head. “No, I’m afraid that look just doesn’t quite work for you. Let’s try the next.” 

Alfred let out a sigh of his own, he had been secretly hoping for the ‘one and done’ kind of shopping trip but alas, the universe was not on his side today. He begrudgingly returned to the dressing room to try on the next suit, which turned into the next suit, which turned into the next…like seriously, Arthur was so picky! It wasn’t Alfred’s fault that he couldn’t rock the professional look like his British companion could. 

When he finally emerged with one of the only remaining suits left to try on, he was expecting Arthur to turn it away like all the others, but instead Arthur’s eyes widened and he leaned forward. 

“Ah! That one! It exudes classiness and sensibility. It’s bloody _perfect_. Finally, my god I thought we were never going to find one.” He smiled so beautifully at Alfred then that the taller man’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Y-you really think so?” Alfred asked. Curse his stammering. 

“Yes! It fits you exceptionally well,” he turned to a clerk in a nearby aisle. “Excuse me sir, we would like some advice on this suit that he has on. Do you think it needs to be hemmed at all?” 

The dark-haired clerk came over to them before stopping abruptly. 

“Alfred…is that really you?” 

Oh shit. It was his old coworker and good friend, Kiku! What the hell was he doing working in this store?

He couldn’t keep that question to himself apparently. “Kiku oh my god! Long time no see! What are you doing here??” He put his hand out which Kiku took as the two shared a friendly handshake. 

 “Ah, I work here now. I stopped working at the videogame company only a little bit after you left. You were right about that place – so hostile and unpleasant.” 

“I know right! I guess it’s a good thing you weren’t there for much longer after I got the boot, I bet you were hella bored,” he laughed merrily. 

Kiku smiled tight and warm in response and then changed the subject. “I am surprised you are here in a suit, Alfred. This must be a very special occasion. Are you going to an event with your boyfriend?” 

Alfred blushed from ear to ear as he looked to Arthur frantically. “Ohh no no hahaha he’s not- this is just my friend, Arthur! Sorry I totally forgot to introduce you guys.” 

The Japanese man looked embarrassed as well. “Oh I’m very sorry, I should not have assumed anything,” he turned to Arthur and bowed slightly. “It is nice to meet you.”

Arthur lowered his head a bit as a show of courtesy. “Pleasure to meet you, Kiku.” 

The blue-eyed man looked between the two, thrilled that one of his best friends and his newest friend were getting along nicely, albeit a tad awkward at the ‘boyfriend’ mention.

“The suit isn’t for an event of any kind, by the way. We were looking for something he could wear in a professional setting,” Arthur began, steering the conversation back to the reason they were in the store in the first place. “How do you think it fits him?” 

Kiku approached Alfred to measure the lengths of the sleeves and pant legs against his body, and Alfred didn’t miss the frown at his Japanese friend’s lips. Suddenly nervous, he pulled absentmindedly at the lapels of the jacket. “Well? Do I look good or what?” He laughed anxiously. 

“I believe it is a good fit for you. If the pants feel too long, I will recommend getting a little trimmed at the bottom, but I do not think it is necessary. With the proper shoes, I think this suit is a good match.” 

Alfred looked to Arthur for his approval as well so he could finally get this damn thing off and into the regular comfortable clothes that were beckoning him from inside the changing room. 

At last he was permitted to change and when he emerged, he carried the pristine suit over his arm, trying his best not to wrinkle or tamper it, lest he incur the Englishman’s wrath (and perhaps his Japanese friend’s wrath as well, though that was much rarer). 

The two men had been engaging in small talk but stopped once Alfred was in front of them. 

“Shall I get this paid for then?” Arthur questioned as he took the suit from Alfred’s arm. 

“How expensive is it?” Whoops, didn’t mean to let that one slide out. 

Arthur fished the price tag out of the fold and glanced down. “Not too bad, especially for this label, definitely worth it.” With that, he turned on his heel and headed to the register. 

Alfred narrowed his eyes before he turned to Kiku. “How much is that suit?” He knew his friend wouldn’t lie to him, and now he had to know. 

The shorter man looked uncomfortable. “It is around five hundred and fifty dollars.” 

Blue eyes widened to abnormal proportions. “F-fi…five HUNDRED? Oh my god… That is literally insane. I can’t believe he’s doing this,” he murmured the last part mostly to himself but Kiku heard it anyway. 

“Your friend is buying that for you? He is very generous,” there was a question of ‘why’ hanging in the air between his words but Alfred wasn’t going to indulge his curiosity, not now at least. 

“Yeah he is. He’s a great guy,” Alfred said truthfully. 

“Alfred, can I ask you a question? It is unrelated.”

“Yeah of course.” 

“You look very different from the last time I saw you. Much more thin, and tired. Are you okay?” 

Alfred gulped and rubbed the back of his neck, feigning ignorance. “Yeah dude I’m okay, I just lost some weight is all.” 

His friend studied him for a moment before replying, “I know you better than that, I think. You seem to be lying.” 

Okay but did Kiku really have to call him out like that? Couldn’t they all pretend everything was fine and dandy? He had never known his friend to be so direct with him before, apparently Alfred wasn’t the only person that had changed since they last saw each other. 

He was trying to formulate his response when he saw Arthur making his way over to them with the newly purchased suit in tow. 

This wasn’t the kind of conversation he wanted to have in general, least of all in front of Arthur. He definitely missed Kiku and wouldn’t mind hanging out again in the future, and maybe by then he would be able to open up about the struggles he had faced over the last half-year, but now just wasn’t the right time. 

“Kiku, it was really great seeing you, but I think we’re going to head out now.” He tried to smile without giving away his discomfort as he turned away toward the door.

Arthur stopped him, “Oh we’re in no rush. If you’d like to stay and chat with him, it’s no issue.” 

The dark-eyed man kept glancing between the two of them, no doubt evaluating the situation and trying to come to a reasonable conclusion for why Alfred was acting so weird. Alfred didn’t blame him for wanting more information, but this was just so freakin’ awkward! 

At last Kiku opened his mouth again. “I should help other clients again anyway, so I do not mind if you need to leave. But first I want to invite you to my apartment next week, I am having friends over for a videogame party. We will try out all these new games I got recently. Do you want to come?” 

It wasn’t often that Alfred was left speechless, but this was one of those times. He had no idea what to say. 

“Uhhh, I– uhhhh,” he sputtered gracefully. 

“You do not need to give me an answer now!” Kiku supplied urgently, “You can always text me when you decide.” 

Alfred nodded dumbly in response.

“Do you still have my phone number? I have tried texting you multiple times the last few months but you didn’t answer. I was unsure if you lost your phone, or if you got a new number.” 

Sweat was starting to drip down Alfred’s temple, and his hands were clenching and unclenching at their own accord. He thought back to the crappy phone with a cracked screen he hadn’t been able to use in months, that was currently stuffed in his tote bag at Arthur’s place. He hadn’t used it since the battery died after he had been forced out of his apartment, and he obviously couldn’t pay his phone bill so it wasn’t like he could use it for anything other than the stupid game apps he had installed to stave off boredom. Suddenly he thought about how many calls he had missed, how many texts had gone unanswered. Looking down, he hadn’t realized his eyes started to water. 

So, so much shame. 

Arthur’s worried hand was on him in an instant and he heard Kiku start to frantically reconcile for damage that he didn’t cause. 

“Alfred, forgive me, I did not mean to make you upset. You do not need to answer about the party or the phone. I only asked because I miss your company.” 

And if that just about made Alfred burst into tears right there… 

“N-no it’s okay. Sorry, I just-” he wiped at his face desperately, hoping that the other patrons weren’t looking in their direction witnessing him cascade into a state of panic. He took a couple of deep breaths as Arthur continued to squeeze his shoulder soothingly. 

“Kiku, I-” he tried and failed to even his voice out. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay. You don’t need to speak right now,” said Arthur gently. Alfred took another deep breath, feeling himself calm immensely from the Englishman’s pacifying voice and comforting touch.

This time when he wiped at his face, the tears didn’t reappear. And when he felt prepared, he lifted his head to look at the two worried men in front of him. 

“Thank you. I just…Kiku I want to tell you everything that happened since I got fired from that shithole of a company, but I’m not ready yet. Just know that I haven’t been able to use my phone in months, so honestly I don’t know how I can contact you.” He shook his head sadly. 

“Do you _have_ a phone?” Arthur asked him, seemingly perplexed at the notion. 

“Yeah, I do. It’s long-dead though. Not sure if it’ll turn on when I charge it but I can try. And I’m not gonna have service or anything since I don’t have a phone plan anymore.” 

At this, Arthur perked up. “Oh don’t worry yourself with that! We’ll get you set up with a new plan and everything, not a trouble at all.” 

Alfred stared at him, debating whether or not to fight the offer, but already knowing how it would play out. How quickly they had developed a pattern of behavior. 

He smiled at him, “Thanks dude, you’re the best. Seriously.” 

Arthur blushed slightly, “Nonsense.” Then he faced Kiku before taking out his own phone. “I can take down your information just in case the data was lost and we need to get him a new one.” 

Kiku smiled and exchanged information with Arthur whilst the tallest of the group watched on. 

At last they all said their goodbyes (and Kiku was blessed with a tight hug from Alfred) before the two blondes exited the store. They had only made it a couple of paces on the sidewalk before Arthur turned to him and stated, “You have good taste in friends.” 

Alfred couldn’t help but agree.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took so long to write, but I guess anything is better than my 4 year hiatus so really it's not so bad XD


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